Although the exact number of Federal employees who have been – or will be – affected by widespread layoffs instituted the Trump administration is not immediately clear, recent reports suggest the current number of cuts tops 12,000.
This number is in addition to the roughly 75,000 Federal employees who have accepted the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” offer. This program allows Federal employees to resign but be paid through Sept. 30.
Health agencies have seen the biggest confirmed cuts so far, with about 5,200 probationary employees – or recent hires – targeted across the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Probationary status typically indicates someone who has been working in the Federal government for less than two years – before full civil service protections kick in.
According to reporting from STAT News, senior officials at the health agencies were briefed on the cuts on Friday morning and the mass firings happened that afternoon.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Thursday that it dismissed over 1,000 employees, including some probationary employees. The VA said the personnel moves will save the department more than $98 million per year.
“This was a tough decision, but ultimately it’s the right call to better support the veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the department exists to serve,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
“To be perfectly clear: these moves will not negatively impact VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries,” Collins added. “In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”
The U.S. Forest Service is firing 3,400 probationary employees, while the National Park Service is firing about 1,000 probationary employees, according to reporting from Reuters.
According to Politico, as many as 2,000 probationary employees at the Department of Energy (DoE) were fired on Thursday.
However, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration has since asked back some department staff who worked at the DoE’s National Nuclear Safety Administration. About 300 to 400 NNSA workers were terminated, but it is not immediately clear how many were asked to return.
Other agencies that have fired their probationary employees include the Federal Aviation Administration, Small Business Administration, Office of Personnel Management, Education Department, General Services Administration, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Other reporting from the New York Post suggests that as many as 15,000 probationary employees at the IRS will be laid off as early as this week. However, the IRS did not immediately respond to MeriTalk’s request to confirm this number.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service slammed the Trump administration’s firings of probationary employees, calling the decision “another profoundly damaging action.”
“By terminating employees simply because they are the most vulnerable, the Trump administration has just thrown away our down payment on the future,” said Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service.
“Many of those who lost their jobs … were newer hires made in areas of great need for our government, including AI, cybersecurity, and technology. It is ultimately our country that will pay a heavy price for this arbitrary dismantling of the civil service,” Stier said.
Similarly, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) – the largest Federal employee union – called the mass firings “reckless.”
“These firings are not about poor performance – there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants. They are about power. They are about gutting the federal government, silencing workers, and forcing agencies into submission to a radical agenda that prioritizes cronyism over competence,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said.
“Despite OPM’s guidance earlier this week advising agencies not to engage in sweeping terminations, the administration has plowed forward. Employees were given no notice, no due process, and no opportunity to defend themselves in a blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that are supposed to govern Federal employment,” he added.
Kelley said AFGE will fight these firings and “pursue every legal challenge available.”
